Current opinion in neurobiology
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Severe size constraints are imposed on the hearing organs of insects, yet they perform sophisticated tasks of auditory processing. Recent research has shown how flies acoustically locate targets in space, how mosquitoes afford highly sensitive ears, and how crickets avoid deafening themselves with their songs. These findings unveil the exquisite analytical capabilities of highly specialized microscale auditory systems.
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Curr. Opin. Neurobiol. · Jun 2002
ReviewSleep, feeding, and neuropeptides: roles of orexins and orexin receptors.
Recent studies using molecular genetics in mice and dogs, as well as histopathological analyses of human disease, have come to the same conclusion: the human sleep disorder narcolepsy is caused by failure of signaling mediated by orexin (hypocretin) neuropeptides. These and other findings strongly suggest that the orexin system plays a critical role in sleep/wake regulation. In addition, the orexin system may link energy homeostasis to the regulation of sleep/wake cycles.
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During the past year, a major advance in the study of axon regeneration was the molecular cloning of Nogo. The expression of Nogo protein by CNS myelin may be a major factor in the failure of CNS axon regeneration. The effect of disrupting Nogo-dependent axon inhibition can now be studied conclusively. In related work, immunization with a Nogo-containing CNS myelin preparation was shown to promote regeneration and dramatic functional recovery after spinal cord trauma.
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Recent advances indicate not only that the spinal cord has great potential for locomotor recovery after lesion but also that locomotor training can optimise this recovery through some form of 'learning'. Improvement of residual function can also be achieved through the use of various drugs and treatments such as spinal grafts. In spinal-cord-injured humans, a number of recent studies have allowed an objective quantification of the improvement of locomotion through various forms of training and stimulation.
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Curr. Opin. Neurobiol. · Oct 1999
ReviewSense and specificity: a molecular identity for nociceptors.
Recent cloning efforts have identified families of ligand- or voltage-gated ion channels that are expressed by pain-sensing primary afferent neurons. Pharmacological, electrophysiological and genetic studies are beginning to reveal how these signaling molecules specify roles for subsets of sensory neurons in the pain pathway.